Aspect oriented web service invocation

ABSTRACT

A web service request is received by an intermediary that performs a conversion of the requestor&#39;s service interface to the service interface supported by a service provider matching the requested service, then invokes that service. A reverse conversion is performed when passing a reply to the requester. The web serving intermediary maintains a library of each target service in terms of the target service&#39;s tModel and on its binding protocol support. The intermediary receives web service requests from requestors including their source tModel and target web service information. The intermediary identifies a mapping aspect to invoke the target web service from the aspect library. The target service tModel is embodied in the mapping aspect which is weaved into the code invoking the target service at runtime. In this way, the interface logic is decided at run time.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to the field of web serving, and particularlyinvocation of web services. In one form, this is achieved by use of anaspect oriented framework.

BACKGROUND

In general service-oriented web serving architectures there areessentially three roles: service providers, service accessing clients,and registry/mediatory. Any person with a computing node withappropriate software and connection abilities can access a web service.More typically it will be a web service in a business externalintegration environment, in which an enterprise application can invokeand run external business processes hosted by service providers as webservices. To enable effective managing of invocation, most of theseclients employ a web service intermediary layer such as simple proxyframework (e.g. WSIF or web service gateways), that cater for differenttransport protocols. The service providers may describe their serviceusing standards such as the Web Services Description Language (WSDL),which is an XML-based language, that defines web service interfacedetails. A description of Web Services Description Language (WSDL)Version 1.2, Working Draft of Jan. 24, 2003 is available athttp://www.w3.org.TR/wsdl12. The standard is published by the WorldwideWeb Consortium.

Generally, web service abstracts the client from the underlyinghardware, operating system, implementing language, hosting servers, andso on. However, from the client point of view, invoking a servicedefined by a different interface standard or invoking a service withchanged interface requires an understanding of the request/responsemessages and reformatting the request data to access the changedservice. Thus in spite of the automation and abstraction that comes withinteracting with a web service, the client still needs to undertake codechanges to invoke the new or changed service. This is disadvantageousfrom the point of view of cost and down time.

A modular approach can be taken to this problem. By taking a modularapproach, the various modules of the requesting client can accessdifferent port-types of the hosted service implementation defined by aninterface. However this approach fails in situations such as bindingprotocol support, Quality of Service (QOS) restrictions, and interfaceadaptation.

What is clearly needed is a mechanism that enable a proxy or any otherservice-specific intermediary to serve clients so that they interactwith different service interfaces and service bindings at run time, andare relieved of the service invocation and dealing with interactionlevel changes. It is desirable also to provide a mechanism that takescare of specific invocation details described in standards such as WSDL,and to provide a mechanism that is self-configured with capabilities toadjust to the properties of the service during the point of invocation.

SUMMARY

A web service request is received by an intermediary that performs aconversion of the requestor's service interface to the service interfacesupported by a service provider matching the requested service, theninvokes that service. A reverse conversion is performed when passing areply to the requestor.

The service interface can exist in accordance with the UniversalDescription Discovery and Integration (UDDI) specification. The UDDIspecification utilises tModels, that provide the ability to describeservices and taxonomies. Services represented in UDDI are provided byone or more nested binding template structures.

The web serving intermediary maintains a library of each target servicein terms of the target service's tModel and on its binding protocolsupport. The intermediary receives web service requests from requestorsincluding their source tModel and target web service information. Theintermediary identifies a mapping aspect to invoke the target webservice from the aspect library. The target service tModel is embodiedin the mapping aspect which is weaved into the code invoking the targetservice at runtime. In this way, the interface logic is decided at runtime.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a web serving architecture.

FIG. 2 is an interaction diagram for a known service implementation.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a service access framework architecture ofthe invention.

FIG. 4 is a representative structure of the access client component ofthe framework of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a code listing for an aspect that identifies the point cuts ofthe aspect client.

FIG. 6 is a runtime flow model.

FIG. 7 is a process diagram showing a weaving of advices.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Introduction

As noted above, and with reference to FIG. 1, in a typical serviceoriented architecture for web services, there are three major entitiesinvolved. They are a service requestor 10, a service provider 12, and aservice registry 14 (also known as a web service intermediary). Theservice requestor 10 and service registry 14 are running WSDL. Of coursethis is a primitive example for purposes of explanation; there will bemany requestors, providers and registries in actual use.

The service provider 12 publishes the description of the service itprovides into a Universal Description Discovery and Integration (UDDI)registry 16. The UDDI registry 16 resembles an Internet search engine,that helps in discovering web services. The services descriptioninformation defined in WSDL is complementary to the information found ina UDDI registry. The service provider 12 can either provide the serviceinterface referred by the published service or it can refer to anystandard service interface already published in the UDDI registry 16. Asbriefly mentioned above, in the UDDI's terms, a service interface iscalled a “tModel” and the service implementation is called a “bindingtemplate”. A discussion of these UDDI structures is given in a documenttitled: Using WSDL in a UDDI Registry, Version 1.07 (UDDI BestPractice), in the section titled “Relevant UDDI Structures” of May 21,2002, published by UDDI.org, incorporated herein by reference, andavailable from www.uddi.org/pubs/wsdlbestpractices.html.

In general terms, the service requestor 10 discovers the appropriateservice from service implementation documents published in the UDDIregistry 16 based on its requirements, and binds to the respectiveservice provider 12. Binding involves accessing the service using theinformation such as end point, messaging protocol and the messagingstyle provided in the service implementation document stored in the UDDIregistry 16. The service implementation document contains details suchas the IP address called to reach the service, and the messagingprotocol that the service uses to listen to requests.

FIG. 2 depicts a web service-invoking client 10 in a known scenario.Here, the binding and invocation logic specific to the web serviceinterface is embedded within the business logic of the requester code. Afirst service requestor 10 ₁ has interface logic specific to tModel_1,allowing it to invoke either of service provider A 12 ₁ or serviceprovider B 12 ₂, that refer to tModel_1 18 ₁. A second service requestor10 ₂ has interface logic specific to tModel_2, and can invoke onlyservice-provider C 12 ₃, that refers to tModel_2 18 ₂. For eitherservice requester 10 ₁, 10 ₂ to invoke the other service, itsinterfacing logic is required to be modified, which is undesirable.

As already mentioned, the standard interface definitions are registeredas tModels in the UDDI 16. The service providers can publish theircompliance with these standard definitions by referring to them in therespective binding template. Each tModel has a name, an explanatorydescription, and a Universal Unique Identifier (UUID). The UUID pointsto the service interface description wsdl code, which includes the porttype, operations and request/response messages.

A sample tModel definition is given below: <tModel authorizedName=“...”operator=“...” tModelKey=“...”>  <name>HertzReserveService</name> <description xml:lang=“en”>WSDL description of the Hertz ™ reservationservice interface</description>  <overviewDoc>   <descriptionxml:lang=“en”>WSDL source document.</description><overviewURL>http://mach3.ebphost.net/wsdl/hertz_reserve.wsdl</overviewURL>  </overviewDoc>  <categoryBag>   <keyedReferencetModelKey=“uuid:C1ACF26D-9672-4404-9D70- 39B756E62AB4”keyName=“uddi-org:types” keyValue=“wsdlSpec”/>  </categoryBag> </tModel>

In a typical scenario, as explained with reference to FIG. 2, arequesting client 10, that is specific to a service definition tModel,can interact with only the service implementations that are compliantwith this tModel.

Framework Solution

The framework which addresses this problem performs tModel adaptationdynamically at runtime. The framework resides on the service registry14. Aspect dynamic weaving is the mechanism used to achieve thisinterface adaptive invocation of web services. This enables a requestingclient to interact with multiple target services compliant to differenttModel standards at runtime by invoking a single framework.

The requesting clients 10 need to specify to the registry 14 theframework standard that they are comply with and the target service thatthey wish to interact with, along with the request parameters, in astandard format specified by the framework.

FIG. 3 shows the architecture of the framework 30, together with anassociated API controller 40. The framework 30 and API controller 40reside within the service registry 14. The framework 30 has an aspectlibrary 32, a (Service Level Agreement) aspect factory 34, an accessclient 36, and a dynamic aspect weaving tool 38. The API controller 40,in turn, provides an interface with an application 42 being run on aservice requester computer 10.

The API controller 40 links to the aspect factory 34 to generateaspects, and has a mapping aspect lookup function with the aspectlibrary 32. The API controller 40 invokes the aspect weaving tool 38 toweave the identified mapping aspects and the SLA aspects into the accessclient. The link 44 between the API controller 40 and the servicerequestor application 42 handles messaging using WSDL or other suchlanguages. Within the WSDL code typically will be a Web Service LevelAgreement (WSLA), embodied as an XML schema. A description of a SLA isprovided in: A Service Level Agreement Language for Dynamic ElectronicServices, by Heiko Ludwig, Alexander Keller, Asit Dan and Richard King,dated Jan. 24, 2002, available from IBM T. J. Watson Research Center,Yorktown, N.Y. 10598 (also is available fromhttp://www.research.ibm.com/wsla/WSLA093.xsd) incorporated herein byreference.

The aspect library 32 contains a collection of “mapping aspects”. Thedefinition of each aspect has a list of “pointcuts” and corresponding“advice” related to the “join point” of the access client 36. A “joinpoint” is an instruction point in the code that can be modified by theaspect. A “pointcut” is a description of the execution contexts in whichan aspect should be activated. “Advice” is the functionality logicprovided by the aspect which acts upon the execution of the join point,before or after the execution.

The aspect factory 34 contains pre-defined aspect templates. During theruntime the aspect factory 34 generates the aspect instance which willcontain the SLA parameter measurement logic which is based on the datareceived from the WSLA of the service to be invoked. The aspect factory34 parses the SLA parameter-related details from the implementationdefinition and fills those details into an instance of the aspecttemplate to be weaved into access client 36. An example of WSLA-relatedaspects is: the aspect which calculates the value of the SLA parameterduring the runtime. An example of the SLA parameter is: response time,invocation count, status, etc.

FIG. 4 shows a sample structure of an access client component. Theaccess client 36 has different modules (eg. “Methods”) specific to theaccess-related requirements for interacting with any service, such asuser validation and encryption requirements. The access client 36encapsulates the functionality of sending an interface-specific requestand retrieving the response from the relevant web service.

The mapping aspect, sourced from the aspect library 32, works for twodataflows when woven into the access client methods. In the requestflow, the API controller 40 parses the request parameter of the sourcetModel and assigns the values to the attributes specified in the tModeltarget, and constructs a request message understandable by the targetservice. This constructed request message will be used by the accessclient 36 without any change in its existing code logic for invoking theservice. In the response flow, the access client 36 gets the responsemessage from the service. The API controller 40 employs a reversemapping to get into the message into a form that complies with thesource tModel.

FIG. 5 shows a pseudo-code listing for the mapping aspect that lists thepointcuts and advice for the aspect client. “RequestMapping” lists thepointcut for the method “RequestPreparation( )” and the correspondingadvice for the request mapping logic. “ResponseMapping” lists thepointcut for the method “ResponseProcess( )” and the correspondingadvice for the ResponseMapping logic.

Runtime Flow

FIG. 6 shows the runtime flow model. When interaction with a target webservice is wanted (step 50), the requesting application 42 discovers therelated service that satisfies its requirement (step 52). The discoveryof the target service by the requesting client can be done usingstandard APIs, such as UDDI4j, which is an open-source Javaimplementation of the Universal Discovery, Description and IntegrationProtocol, a project supported by IBM and others, to retrieve the set ofimplementations available for a specific business request. The choice ofa single service implementation is based on the business logic of theclient. It could be as simple as choosing the first discovered serviceit needed, or more complex such as considering the service agreementsthat exist between the company of the requesting client and the exposedservice.

The service requestor 42 next invokes the invocation framework 30 andsupplies the description document of the service, along with the tModelit complies with and requesting information data. From the serviceimplementation definition supplied, the referenced tModel containing theservice interface definition document is retrieved (step 54) from theservice provider-specified URL. Based on this set of information, lookupto the aspect library 32 will be done (step 56) and the correspondingmapping aspect (step 58) for request flow and response flow will beretrieved. The generation of the SLA aspect by the aspect factory 34 nowoccurs (step 60). The behaviour of the mapping aspect and the SLA aspectis then forced into the (generic) access client 36 using dynamic weaving(step 62) before (and after) the invocation of the service.

In some instance no SLA requirements would be specified by the servicerequestor, meaning that step 60 may not be performed.

The outlined functionality of the mapping aspect provides an assignmentof the service interface attributes defined in one tModel to theattributes of the tModel which is complied with by the target service.The advices will be weaved at the identified join points. For example,as shown in FIG. 7, the Method requestPrepare ( ) is woven with thetModel_(—)3_to_tModel mapping aspect, and Method responseProcess ( ) iswoven with the tModel_5_to_tModel_3 mapping aspect. The SLA aspect iswoven to the invoke Method service( ), but shown as optional in the caseno SLAs are specified.

So, at runtime, the mapping logic of the aspect is executed for theMethod requestprepare ( ), that generates the request message which isin compliance with the target service. Referring again to FIG. 6, theaccess client 36 constructs the protocol-specific request from thismessage and invokes the service (step 64). If this service supports therequest/response model of invocation, then the target service sends aresponse (step 66) which is again protocol-specific. On the accessclient 36 receiving this response, the response message specific to theservice interface is constructed backwards. At this point, the dynamicweaving of the aspect for mapping to the source tModel specificparameters is executed (step 68). The framework the desired responsemessage is then returned to the requesting client 42 (step 70).

Dynamic weaving

Dynamic weaving of aspects will be achieved by the weaving tool 38 usinga framework such as “PROSE” (discussed below) that employs a JavaVirtual Machine Debugger Interface (JVMDI). A discussion of JVMDI isfound in a document titled Java™ Virtual Machine Debug InterfaceReference, published by Sun Microsystems, Inc. in 1998, (and availableat http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.3.guide.jpda.jvmdi-spec.html) incorporatedherein by reference. Using the JVMDI, PROSE can instruct the Javavirtual machine to hand over the control of execution on reaching aspecified Method (as an example) to weave the required aspects andexecute as part of the target programming sequence.

PROSE

PROSE stands for PROgrammable Service Extensions. It was developed bythe Information and Communication Systems Research Group of theInstitute for Pervasive Computing, Department of Computer Science, ETH(Swiss Federal Institut of Technology) Zürich, Switzerland. A documentdescribing PROSE is: Dynamic Weaving for Aspect-Orientated Programming,by Andrei Popovici, Thomas Gross and Gustavo Alonso of ETH Zurich,published in 2002, incorporated herein by reference. PROSE allowsinserting aspects in running Java™ applications. PROSE is implemented asa JVM extension that can perform interceptions at run-time. However, anapplication will not see any difference with a standard JVM. The PROSEJVM also provides an API for inserting and removing extensions.

Conclusion

A method, computer software, and a computer system are each aredescribed herein in the context of an aspect oriented web serviceinvocation.

The framework can be extended to address separation of any otherconcerns in addition to mapping, SLA such as QOS. It is also highlyadaptable.

Various alterations and modifications can be made to the techniques andarrangements described herein, as would be apparent to one skilled inthe relevant art.

1. A method for invoking a web service from a service provider, themethod comprising the steps of: invoking an intermediary framework whena service is requested by a requester; adapting said framework to atModel supported by a matching service provider; and invoking theservice.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of adapting isperformed by runtime weaving of mapping aspects into said framework. 3.The method of claim 2, wherein said step of adapting includes searchingan aspect library for a binding protocol that matches the tModel of therequested service and assigning attributes of the matching protocol forinvocation of the service.
 4. The method of claim 1 comprising thefurther steps of: receiving a response from said service provider;converting said response to the tModel supported by said requestor; andpassing said response to said requester.
 5. A method for invoking a webservice between a service requestor having a source tModel and a serviceprovider having a target tModel, including a service intermediaryconverting between said source tModel and target tModel for serviceinvocation and reply by applying a matching runtime binding template. 6.A method for invoking a web service between a service requestor and aservice provider, the method comprising the steps of: a servicerequestor making a service request to a service intermediary thatincludes source tModel and target web service information; and a serviceintermediary: retrieving a mapping aspect corresponding to said targetweb service information; retrieving an access code structure; performingruntime weaving of said mapping aspect into said access code structure;and invoking the requested service in a form including the targettModel.
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising the steps of: aservice provider responding to said invocation by providing a response,and said service intermediary performing reverse runtime weaving using amapping aspect corresponding to said source tModel, and returning saidresponse to said service requestor.
 8. The method of claim 6, furthercomprising the step of said service intermediary also weaving an aspectrelating to Service Level Agreement parameters into said access codestructure.
 9. The method of claim 6, wherein said mapping aspectincludes pointcuts and corresponding advice relating to join points ofsaid access code structure.
 10. A web serving system comprising: atleast one service requesting client, each said requesting client havinga source tModel and specifying target web service information; a webservice intermediary including an aspect library having a set of mappingaspects each relating to services provided by servers, an access clientcomponent, and a runtime weaving tool; a plurality of servers providingweb services; and a communications network connecting said requestingclients with said intermediary, and said intermediary with said servers;and wherein said aspect library matches the target web serviceinformation with one said web service servers and provides a matchingtarget tModel mapping aspect to said access client, to be woven into anaspect of said access client and instantiated in a binding template atruntime by said weaving tool to invoke the requested service.
 11. Thesystem of claim 10, further comprising an aspect factory containingtemplates relating to Service Level Agreement parameters, and whereinsaid aspect factory outputs an aspect corresponding to a set of SLAparameters specified by a service requesting client to said accessclient also to be woven with said mapping aspect and said access clientaspect.
 12. The web serving system of claim 10, wherein said mappingaspect includes pointcuts and corresponding advices relating to joinpoints of said access client aspect.
 13. A web service intermediarycomprising: an aspect library having a set of mapping aspects eachrelating to services provided by servers; an access client component;and a runtime weaving tool; and wherein said aspect library matchestarget web service information with one said web service server andprovides a matching target tModel mapping aspect to said access client,to be woven into an aspect of said access client and instantiated in abinding template at runtime by said weaving tool to invoke the requestedservice.
 14. The web service intermediary of claim 13, furthercomprising an aspect factory containing templates relating to ServiceLevel Agreement parameters, and wherein said aspect factory outputs anaspect corresponding to a set of SLA parameters specified by a servicerequesting client to said access client also to be woven with saidmapping aspect and said access client aspect.
 15. The web serviceintermediary of claim 13, wherein said mapping aspect includes pointcuts and corresponding advices relating to join points of said accessclient aspect.
 16. A computer program product for invoking a webservice, comprising a computer program stored on a storage medium, thecomputer program including: code means for discovering a tModel of a webservice requester, and for discovering details of a requested webservice; code means for invoking an intermediary framework when a webservice is requested by a requester; code means for discovering tModelsof web service providers and details of web services provided by saidproviders; code means for adapting said framework at runtime to thetModel supported by a service provider matching a requested web service;and code means for invoking the service.
 17. The computer programproduct of claim 16, the program of which further including code meansfor converting a response received from a service provider to the tModelsupported by said requestor.